Thank you for reading a rather formal discussion of topics about cultural literacy.  I’d like to continue by sharing with you my reflections about this research into aspects of cultural literacy.

Reflections

Most people know the feeling when they are at a loss to understand a literary allusion or historical reference.  I have learned that a background in my own culture as well as others is critical to understanding, reading, comprehending, and being comfortable in academic and social conversations.     

As E.D Hirsch, Jr. (1988) explains in his now classic book, Cultural Literacy, “Successful communication depends upon shared associations” (59).  Just thinking about why people laugh at jokes or smile with understanding at the use of a particular analogy can legitimize Hirsch’s words.

Cultural literacy is not about the act of reading; it is more about drawing from a background of information to inform reading and thus increase comprehension.  A child can know what a “bank” is, but he may not know that the word has multiple meanings if he is a city child.

The assertion that children should not memorize terminology and facts because they really do not understand them and because it is boring to memorize them is false.  Children learn “adult” vocabulary on their own.  Parent can attest to that when they hear their two-year-old yell a socially unacceptable word in the grocery store.  Knowing words is fun for children.  Moreover, cultural literacy resembles a bank account which grows as deposits, large and small, are made regularly.

          Researching the topic of cultural literacy was challenging.  Besides the print works of Hirsch, there were no journals and few online resources dedicated specifically to cultural literacy.  I came to the realization that Hirsch’s work identified and justified a literacy which people take for granted will be “picked up along the way.”  The vast array of people, places, items, and topics make teaching cultural literacy a formidable task, but in my opinion, not exposing children to as many cultural experiences and discussions is handicapping their reading, writing, and social interactions.

          I have learned acquiring knowledge is subject to theory and research in order to assess its value and effectiveness.  Many theorists, from Vygotsky to Thorndike, have published their works on literacy.  Jerome Bruner, father of the constructivist theory in reading, believed that knowledge should be introduced numerous times during K-12 education and allowed to build in complexity.  Cultural literacy benefits from this theory in that the first exposure to an historical term, such as the Civil War, may not be much more than factual, but later exposure can build on the facts to explain why the South felt the need to withdraw from the Union.

In order for cultural literacy to be achieved in a person’s life, there must be a coherent, progressive exposure in the early grades, a time when learning is effortless and teachers can make even difficult concepts fun and rewarding.  As an investigation into the low literacy levels of materially-disadvantaged children proves, they are “the very ones who suffer when we fail to introduce traditional literate culture into the earliest grades” (xv).  Economics plays a serious role in the extent of poorer children’s educational attainment.  Several factors come into play: parental inability to afford reading materials, lack of access to computers and libraries, and lack in accessing social services.

Those libraries and school districts which recognize the foundational nature of cultural literacy can write grants to finance their programs and materials.  A great number of foundations, organizations, and businesses exist which will provide funds as a humanitarian outreach to communities.  Large national institutions, such as the ­National Endowment for the Humanities, have larger sums to access, but smaller state and local organizations, such as the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, have a vested interested in communities.

 I think a clear focus on incorporating cultural literacy into the curriculum at age-appropriate levels is not an expensive undertaking.  It is, however, an exercise in realizing that every day is a cultural literacy opportunity to a child, a teen, even an adult.  There might be a volunteer guest speaker, someone’s grandmother who will talk about her experiences during the Great Depression.  A returning soldier will share geography of the Middle East with fourth graders, and the antique store owner in town will bring artifacts for children to identify.  There are games to play, competitive quizzes to take, and books to read, such as the Eyewitness Books by Dorling Kindersley.  These activities are foundational to a child’s literary bank account, a store of knowledge he can access for comprehension of progressively more difficult material.

          By interviewing a librarian in the field, I have been able to see how cultural literacy is integrated into a library.  Mrs. Hotchkiss, in her 49^th year as a Children’s Librarian at the Brandon Township Library (BTPL) in Ortonville, Michigan, incorporates as much cultural exposure in her programs as possible.  Her choice of books to read to children, films to show, and programming to present all increase the children’s exposure of diverse people, places, items, and events.

          I found access to cultural literacy in action by observing two programs at the BTPL.  Both programs promoted historical literacy, one for elementary-aged girls and their American Girl dolls and one for teens involving war gaming and strategies.  Each program combined historically accurate discussions and play with enjoyment in the activity.  The girls learned about the times in which their dolls lived, and the teens based their War gaming on the World Wars and some fantasy.  The fact that the participants in both programs attended regularly and that they informed me how much they enjoyed their time was evidence that accumulating literacy on a topic did not have to be a boring experience.

          I have also been pleased to know that I can access online presentations to further my literacy in areas of interest to me.  Although some require fees, there are many presentations available, especially older ones, from which to choose.  I accessed a Webcast from 2009, hosted by the National Institute for Literacy and the American Library Association’s Committee on Literacy about encouraging lifelong learning.  I gained insight into how others viewed issues in literacy and especially found ideas about programming.  Even though the presentation was eight years old, the issues are still being discussed today.  In a way, I was accessing “history” to inform me to absorb new information about the subject today, just as children and teens do with cultural literacy acquisition to help them read with understanding and communicate effectively.